Purple 5 displaying at night

Although great bustards are not a nocturnal species, they are certainly at their most active at dawn and dusk. We have always been interested in their level of activity during the hours of darkness, when we are not able to see them. 

Over the years we have had a few clues – bustards with satellite transmitters changing location between 6pm, midnight and 6am during the winter, and sightings of  bustards feeding by the light of the full moon. Obtaining camera traps with infra-red capability helped add to our knowledge, taking pictures such as this of Purple 5 displaying at night. These cameras have taken very few night time pictures of bustards in comparison to the number taken during the day, but the infra-red light only works at very close range. 

Recently we had a visit from a camera crew with much more advanced equipment, who were in one of our photographic hides from two hours before first light onwards, on a night without any moonlight. They located a group of bustards immediately, roosting very close to each other. The birds became active about 45 minutes before it was light enough for us to see, and immediately started feeding and displaying. They started moving when light levels were equivalent to that provided by about half a moon, so night time activity around the full moon could be expected. This is a great example of how advanced technology can help us learn more about the behaviour of the species.

Two juvenile female great bustards in the snow. Photo © David Kjaer.

As birds which live and feed on the ground, deep snow can be a serious problem for great bustards. We are lucky that in southern England, cold snaps tend to be short and far apart. In countries like Germany, Hungary and Austria, bustards often make cold weather movements, escaping from particularly severe winter weather. This exposes them to dangers such as power lines and wind turbines, and not all the birds which leave will come back. Bustard projects in those countries are therefore keen to prevent their birds from moving. They clear snow from fields of oil seed rape, the favourite winter food of the bustards, effectively creating a huge bustard bird table!

Snow blower attached to our tractor and ready to be deployed

Even in our relatively mild climate, we have work to do to help our bustards when the weather is like it has been over the last week. We prepared for the major snowfall on 18th January by covering small areas of oil seed rape within our release area with tarpaulins, and attaching a snow blower to our tractor. Then, once the snow had stopped, we could remove the tarpaulins and clear more snow from the surrounding oil seed rape. This ensured that the eleven birds at the site would feel no need to move away in search of food.

Great bustard feeding on oil seed rape

Move over Gillan McKeith – scientists at the University of Bath are studying the droppings of great bustards to help understand their diet and nutrition with the aim of boosting their survival in a conservation project to reintroduce the birds to the UK.

Great bustards, the world’s largest flying bird and the county mascot for Wiltshire, became extinct in the UK in 1832. The LIFE+ Great Bustard Reintroduction Project is a partnership between the Great Bustard Group, RSPB, Natural England and the University of Bath, which has been working together to establish a self-sustaining population of Great Bustards in southern England.

The reintroduction project has been regularly rearing chicks imported from Saratov, Russia and releasing them once they are fully fledged at a secret location on Salisbury Plain. For the first time this year, they have also successfully hatched chicks from eggs brought over from Russia.

As part of the conservation project,  Scott Gooch and Dr Kate Ashbrook from the University of Bath LIFE+ project monitoring team have been collecting droppings of the released birds to monitor what they prefer eating and how their diet changes through the year.

Scott Gooch explained: “Relatively little is known about the diets of great bustards living in the UK. Watching bustards in the wild can give you information on where they prefer to feed and how much of their time they devote to feeding, but by examining their droppings under a microscope we can discover the quantities of different insects and plants in their diet and how this changes across the year.”

Understanding what the birds eat in the wild will help the development of targeted habitat management for great bustards in the UK.  

Dr Ashbrook explained: “The success of this reintroduction project depends on whether there is enough food to support great bustards through the autumn and winter.  

“We believe there is, but it is important to monitor their diet so we can ensure there is sufficient suitable habitat for them as the population grows, and to establish more through agri-environment management if needs be.”

They aim to raise $3,230 by the 17th of January next year.

The Asian Great Bustard project is run by Mimi Kessler, a friend of the Great Bustard Project.

Their fund-raising video is available to view below:

As part of the fund-raising initiative, the project is offering further incentives beyond for those benefactors who donate certain amounts, including printed photos and the adoption of a Great Bustard.

Google map showing the locations in which bustards have been recorded in France

Despite our efforts to prevent it, we cannot help but be excited when our bustards reach France. Four birds have crossed the Channel in previous years. Three in 2005 did not return, but T5 overwintered in northern France in 2011/2 and returned to her release site in May of this year. Two more birds have joined that list this month.

L21 is the classic case – a newly released bird experiencing the urge to move in early November and suddenly disappearing. She madee the fastest trip we have yet recorded, disappearing between the evening of 4^th November and the morning of 5^th November, then being reported again on 6^th November. In the intervening 36 hours she had flown around 400 miles to Les Sables d’Olonne in the Vendée region of western France.

She was reported to be tired and underweight, and was soon taken into captivity. Members of the project team travelled to Nantes to collect her and bring her back to the UK. We judged that as she was already in captivity, it would be better for her to be re-released with other bustards than into the French countryside with none of her own species to associate with. After veterinary checks she was returned to the soft release pen from which she was released two months ago, and she will shortly be able to rejoin the other nine bustards at the site. Hopefully she will not attempt to repeat her journey!

L21 in September just before release

Follow this link to read a local French newspaper story about L21:

http://www.nantes.maville.com/actu/actudet_-L-outarde-barbue-a-regagne-son-nid-anglais_52716-2246030_actu.Htm

The second of this year’s French birds has not yet been identified as an individual, but is already a first for the project, as we can be sure that it is an adult. It appears to have been spotted at either end of its Channel crossing. At 8am on 18^th November a bustard flew east past Durlston Country Park in Dorset. Then at 3pm on the same day, a bustard was seen flying south near Regnéville-sur-Mer in northern France. We eagerly await the next sighting, particularly to establish which bird it is.

Allan Goddard (GBG) receiving the new tractor from Paul Shutler (C&O Tractors). The tractor we have had for the last year is to their left, and its replacement to their right.

With huge thanks to C&O Tractors, the project received another new tractor this week. It came as a replacement for ‘Boomer’, the New Holland tractor we have had on loan from C&O for just over a year. As the picture shows, it’s a big upgrade!

The tractor is one of the most important pieces of equipment we have. It allows Allan Goddard from the Great Bustard Group to prepare ideal bustard habitat throughout the year at both our release sites. The habitat management we do gives the bustards a safe place to go whenever they choose. At the release sites bustards can feed, roost and even breed. Having a new tractor with a cab means Allan can continue to do the same important work, but listen to the radio at the same time!

The chicks in their first few weeks

This summer, we imported great bustard eggs into the UK from Russia for the first time. It was an exciting moment for the project, the first time great bustard eggs had ever been transported by air, and we were delighted when within two weeks all six of the eggs had hatched. Unfortunately one chick died due to complications in the hatching process, but the remainder thrived under the watchful eye of Cristina Sellares, our aviculturist. The story of their early weeks is told in the Autumn 2012 issue of Otis – here we will jump forward to mid-August, when our chicks were ready to begin the release process.

The import of eggs gave us the opportunity to make major changes to the process of rearing and releasing the birds. Quarantine regulations remained in place until the youngest chick was 30 days old, far younger than the Russian-reared chicks when their quarantine ends. This gave us time for a much softer release process, which could be spread over months rather than weeks.

Cristina in the release pen with the chicks, photo © David Kjaer

The chicks were moved to a small pen within the main release pen, still with shelter and heat lamps for when it was cold or wet. They had become accustomed to the presence of their human mother in a special rearing suit, and she was now able to lead them out into the main pen several times a day for their first taste of good bustard habitat. They were still fed twice a day, but could also eat vegetation and insects naturally whilst in the pen. Their preference for the leaves of oil seed rape, like all bustards, was immediately obvious.

A week into September, the chicks were progressing well, and it was time to give them access to all of the release pen, all of the time. We removed two panels from their small pen permanently, but it took them several days to gather the courage to explore on their own.

Two of the chicks in the release pen with Black 9, a bird released in 2011. Photo © David Kjaer

By the end of September they were rarely seen around their pen, and much more often in or near one of the plots of oil seed rape. We are still feeding them, to maintain their positive relationship with the rearing suit, but they are starting to behave much more like wild bustards and probably no longer need supplementary feeding. None have yet left the safety of the release pen, but the gradual nature of their release process should stand them in good stead for their future life in the wild.

All the chicks have now been marked with light green plastic rings, each with an individual code. As with the Russian-reared chicks, you will be able to follow their progress on the LIFE bird news page at http://greatbustard.org/life_project/life-bird-news/.